WINTER OLYMPICS COUNTDOWN 64 DAYS UNTIL THE GAMES
Alpine Skiing: Sonja Nef of Switzerland won a World Cup giant slalom at Val d’Isere, a week after teammate Silvano Beltrametti crashed on the same course and was left paralyzed from the chest down. “It will take weeks to forget,” said Nef, who has won 10 World Cup GS races.
Biathlon/Cross-Country: Raphael Poiree of France and Magdalena Forsberg of Sweden won World Cup biathlon pursuit events last weekend at Pokljuka, Slovenia. The men’s event was 12.5 kilometers and the women’s was 10 kilometers.... Norwegians swept men’s and women’s cross-country competitions last weekend at Davos, Switzerland. Bente Skari won the women’s 10-kilometer classic, while Erling Jevne won the men’s 15-kilometer classic.
Bobsled-Luge-Skeleton: Ashley Hayden of Westborough, Mass., and Courtney Zablocki of Highlands Ranch, Colo., met the qualifying standards for spots on the U.S. luge team, joining Becky Wilczak of River Forest, Ill. The men’s doubles team of Chris Thorpe of Marquette, Mich., and Clay Ives of Lake Placid, N.Y., met the standards last weekend, joining the Mark Grimmette-Brian Martin duo. Tony Benshoof of White Bear Lake, Minn., and Adam Heidt of Northport, N.Y., clinched two of three men’s singles spots.... Susi Erdmann of Germany finished atop the women’s bobsled World Cup standings with 272 points, off three first-place finishes and five seconds in eight races. Compatriot Sandra Prokoff was second (264), followed by Jean Racine of the U.S. (232), Francoise Burdet of Switzerland (227), Bonny Warner of the U.S. (220) and Jill Bakken of the U.S. (202).... Chris Soule won a bronze medal in the third World Cup race of the skeleton season last weekend at Calgary, Canada. Lincoln DeWitt was fifth and Jim Shea Jr. was sixth. The men slide again today at Lake Placid.
Curling: Tim Somerville’s rink lost its first two matches but won the next nine to win the Olympic trials at the Ice Sheet at Ogden, Utah. Qualifying with Somerville, who is from Roseville, Minn., are Mike Schneeberger of Delano, Minn., Myles Brundige of Nekoosa, Wis., and John Gordon of Columbia Heights, Minn. The coach is Somerville’s father, Bud.
Figure Skating: The Russian national championships start next week in Moscow. Three-time world champion Alexei Yagudin, who lost his title to fellow Russian Evgeni Plushenko earlier this year, avenged that defeat at last week’s Grand Prix Final. However, Yagudin has finished second to Plushenko at the last three Russian championships. Irina Slutskaya and Maria Butyrskaya head the women’s field, but Viktoria Volchkova was second to Slutskaya at last year’s competition. Russia can send three men’s single skaters, three women’s singles skaters, three pairs and two ice dance teams to Salt Lake City, the largest contingent of any nation.
Freestyle Skiing: Richard Gay of France won the first dual moguls title of his career last weekend at Steamboat Springs, Colo. In the women’s event, Emiko Torito of Denver earned her first World Cup podium finish, a silver medal.
Hockey: Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, called for NHL teams to show “Olympic spirit and release the Slovaks, Latvians, Germans, Swiss and others for the preliminary round” of the hockey tournament. His request was met with resounding silence.... Mario Lemieux of the Penguins and Team Canada will carry the Olympic torch today in Pittsburgh. He will pass it to Ashley Barrasso, a cancer survivor and daughter of Team USA goalie Tom Barrasso.
Nordic Combined/Ski Jumping: Todd Lodwick of Steamboat Springs clinched an Olympic berth Wednesday by winning the Gold Cup event in his hometown. Bill Demong, of Vermontville, N.Y., was second.... Alan Alborn of Anchorage, Alaska, clinched an Olympic berth Wednesday by winning a Gold Cup event at Steamboat Springs.
Snowboard: Shannon Dunn of Carnelian Bay, Calif., clinched a U.S. Olympic team berth last weekend at Mammoth Mountain. She won the first World Cup Grand Prix halfpipe competition of the season Saturday. Five halfpipe events precede the selection of the U.S. team.
Speedskating: Joey Cheek set a U.S. record in the men’s 1,000 at the Olympic long track trials. He was timed in 1 minutes 7.98 seconds.... Apolo Anton Ohno was first after the first three days of the U.S. short track trials at the Olympic Oval. He won a 500, a 1,000, a 1,500 and a nine-lap time trial to lead the standings. Rusty Smith of Sunset Beach is second. The long trackers began their trials Tuesday; the short track skaters resume today. Both finish Saturday.
